SAN FRANCISCO – The first game of any NBA teamâ€s preseason schedule can bring heavy legs from an intense week of training camp, and rust still needing to be scraped off. The Warriors†oldest player didnâ€t appear to have any issues in either category.
Al Horford, 39 years old, was sharp and spry in the Warriors†111-103 win against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday at Chase Center. And he fit like a glove on his new team after spending the last four years with the Boston Celtics.Â
Coach Steve Kerr was effusive in his praise of Horford after the win, and those same sentiments remained after reviewing the film.Â
“Al just never seems to make a mistake,†Kerr said Tuesday after practice. “He just brings everything you want. Thereâ€s size and athleticism, and shooting ability and passing. He makes the game really easy for everybody.â€
Entering his 19th year as a pro, Horford isnâ€t as easy on himself as his new coach and teammates have been. But even he could acknowledge what everybody saw. The transition from the Celtics†system to the way the Warriors operate was as smooth as anybody could have hoped.Â
“In my eyes, Iâ€m very hard on myself. It was good. I know thereâ€s definitely ways that I can continue to be better,†Horford said Tuesday. “But they make it so easy for guys to come in here and fit in with the group and what weâ€re trying to do. Draymond [Green], Steph [Curry] and obviously coach putting us in positions to kind of go out there and play and feel the game out.Â
“It has been an easy transition. For me, Iâ€m obviously still getting comfortable and familiar with everything. But I am encouraged after that first game, some of the things that I saw, and some of the things that I know that we will all continue to get better at.â€
The expectation upon Horfordâ€s signing was that heâ€d be the Warriors†new starting center. Kerr instead stuck with the same group that was so successful in the second half last season and brought Horford off the bench to begin the preseason. Without scoring a point, Horford quickly showcased the kind of impact he can have on the Warriors once he first entered the game.Â
Horford played just under nine minutes in the first quarter after sitting for the first three minutes, and was a plus-four as the Warriors held a one-point lead. In that first run of his, Horford already grabbed two rebounds, dished two assists, blocked two shots and had a steal. The most notable was how he quickly found Curry for two points.Â
About a minute and a half after taking his warmup gear off, Horford ran the floor alongside Curry and wound up in the left corner. Curry gave Horford the ball but found it back in his hands a split second later as he cut behind Dalton Knecht and finished a nifty layup that also sent him to the free-throw line.
Curry after the game said he already feels an “unspoken chemistry†sharing the floor with Horford.Â
“Itâ€s a level of awareness that Iâ€ve never really had to think about before like that,†Horford said of Curryâ€s constant movement.
Plenty of players, even the best of the best like Kevin Durant, have needed extra time to get used to understanding Curryâ€s uniqueness. Horford is looking at it in the simplest ways he can.
“When Iâ€m on the floor with him, the whole mindset is trying to make the game easier for him. For me, that is either getting him the ball or setting a good screen or doing anything that I can to make sure that our offense just kind of moves and flows,†Horford said.
“Heâ€s such a smart player that itâ€s easy to play off of him. And sometimes heâ€ll kind of tell you what to do. When he passed me that ball, you know heâ€s going to cut, so I guess thatâ€s the unspoken stuff right there.â€
The variety of combinations Kerr can use with Horford is another bonus at his disposal. Horford, 6-foot-9, will play both frontcourt positions. Heâ€s seen more as a center but will see time at power forward, too.
That wrinkle was seen in the second quarter when Horford slid down to the 4 and 7-footer Quinten Post was the 5 next to him. They played the final five minutes of the second quarter together, and the Warriors outscored the Lakers 16-7.
“He obviously brings that versatility, both offensively and defensively,†Post said. “I like playing with him. Weâ€ve been having a lot of talk, trying to pick his brain. … Heâ€s just a guy that you can plug into any system, any defensive scheme.â€
Stats didnâ€t need to jump off the page to understand what a seamless addition Horford is, though the numbers spoke for themselves. Horford was a plus-13 in 14 minutes off the bench with three points, four rebounds, three assists, three blocked shots and one assist.
Like so many others before him, Horford also sure was happy to go from being Curryâ€s opponent to immediately relishing in the riches of being his teammate.
“He just does such a good job of terrifying everybody in the league every time he moves, so thatâ€s something Iâ€m going to take advantage of,†Horford said.
Games donâ€t even count yet and the rest of the league already is on notice for a new duo that can make any arena a house of horrors.
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